Summary
TheUbisoft Forwardfurtherhighlighted a problem with recent game showcases, and it had nothing to do with the actual footage shown from the games. Ubisoft’s showcase closed the Summer Game Fest 2024 weekend and provided a new look atStar Wars Outlaws,Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and more, with some new announcements in store.
These new announcements included the new game in theAnnoseries,Anno 117: Pax Romana, which is already available to be wishlisted and will be released in 2025, roadmaps for XDefiantandThe Crew Motorfest, and free updates and expansions forPrince of Persia: The Lost CrownandThe Rogue Prince of Persia, which are both currently available to download. Alongside thePrince of Persiareveals camea new release window for the remake ofPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which is now targeting 2026.
Every Announcement, Trailer, & Reveal From Ubisoft Forward 2024
Several games were featured during the Ubisoft Forward 2024 presentation at Summer Game Fest, including Star Wars and Assassin’s Creed titles.
Ubisoft’s Announcing Some Of Its Games Too Far In Advance
Which Can Be Detrimental As Fans Are Kept Waiting Too Long For An Update
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s remake was announced back in 2020 with plans to launch in 2021, but it was delayed and had its development process reset at Ubisoft Montreal, leaving fans in the dark for many years. Its 2026 window comes after Ubisoft Toronto - which is working on aSplinter Cellremake as well - joined the project’s development, butit does pose the question of whether Ubisoft is announcing some of these titles too far in advance, and if this can have a detrimental impact on the hype for the game.
Some Titles Were Announced Years Ago But Haven’t Appeared At Ubisoft Forwards Since
Splinter Cell Fans Were Left Disappointed This Year
While the 2024 Ubisoft Forward finally provided an update onPrince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s remake after six years, there are some other previously-announced titles that have gone silent to the disappointment of fans. Perhaps the most well-known example of this isBeyond Good & Evil 2.
Beyond Good & Evil 2 had been teased through leaks since confirmed by developer Michel Ancel in the 2000s when a different version of the game was in the works, then had an official announcement in 2016, before a new trailer was shown at E3 2017. Since then, Ancel has departed the company, butUbisoft reported thatthe project was still “progressing well"in a financial report a year later in 2021. Despite this, there still has been no new reveal to the public regarding new gameplay, story details or even a release date.
In 2022,Beyond Good and Evil 2broke the record held byDuke Nukem Foreverfor the longest development for a video game, at more than 15 years.
One title that many did expect to see at the Ubisoft Forward this year was theSplinter Cellremake, especially as its development studio, Ubisoft Toronto, updated all of its social media pictures to match the stealth franchisearound the time the event was announced. TheSplinter Cellfranchise has been dormant for over a decade now, barring some cameos from series protagonist Sam Fisher in other series such asGhost ReconorRainbow Six, and word surrounding the game has been extremely sparse since its announcement, barring some concept art released as part of the original title’s20th Anniversary celebration in 2022.
With the reports that Ubisoft Toronto was helping with theSands of Timeremake surfacing before the event and the studio’s social media seemingly hyping up some kind ofSplinter Cellreveal, many were hopeful that this meant theSplinter Cellremake was closer to completion and that the first footage from the game could be shown.This resulted in some fan disappointment, which is evident by the number of comments on Ubisoft’s social media posts asking, “Where’s Splinter Cell?” after the event.
This isn’t just a problem atUbisoft, of course, as there has been a trend of announcing games at events either without a release date or with a window many years in the future. Bethesda’sThe Elder Scrolls 6is an example of this, with a reveal trailer being shown back at E3 2018, but not much in the way of major updates from the studio since. While it’s good to let fans of a series know that a new entry is in the works, with how long game development takes for AAA titles now, it just leads to those same fans being disappointed if an update on that game isn’t provided at future showcases.
